SAN DIEGO — A judge ruled Tuesday there is enough evidence for the case against the teenage defendant accused of killing a woman on a popular hiking trail in Carlsbad to move forward.
According to his defense attorney, Debby Kirkwood, he moved to Carlsbad to stay with his grandparents just a couple of months before he was arrested.
Tuesday, he appeared during a virtual hearing dressed in an orange jumpsuit and a mask. The judge ordered reporters not to show the teen's face because he is a juvenile. News 8 has chosen not to reveal his name, unless his case is transferred to adult court.
Carlsbad Detective Josh Bubnis shed light on what led them to the defendant. He testified cameras that police set up at the trail after Thorborg was killed captured images of the teen walking there nearly every day.
Police eventually brought him in for questioning.
"First I showed him a picture of Lisa Thorborg and asked him if had he ever seen her. And his reply was 'No,' he had never seen her before," said Detective Bubnis.
"I asked him if there was any chance he had touched Lisa before. He said he had not," he added.
According to Bubnis, DNA collected from the defendant matches DNA found on Thorborg's shorts.
However, Kirkwood argued there was DNA from other people found on Thorborg's shorts as well.
Kirkwood: "Three people's DNA was found on the shorts correct?"
Det. Bubnis: "Correct."
Kirkwood: "And only one tenth was his, is that fair to say?"
Det. Bubnis: "11 percent."
Kirkwood also suggested the teen's DNA could've been transferred to the victim's clothing if they had both sat down on the same log near where the body was found.
According to the arrest warrant, there was no sign of a struggle at the scene and Thorborg suffered two stab wounds, including one to her neck. She was not robbed nor was she sexually assaulted. About 15-20 feet from her body was a pair of flip flops.
During questioning, Detective Bubnis said the teen admitted to leaving a pair of flip flops on the trail.
Police said a surveillance camera also caught images of the defendant running away from the park barefoot, about 15 minutes after Thorborg was killed.
The teen's grandmother testified he is a sweet boy who is into health and fitness. She said he has no history of owning weapons.
Prosecutors, however, said while living in Oregon previously, the teen was suspended from school multiple times for fighting. They also said while attending a boarding school in Hawai'i, he ran away twice.
Last week the teen entered a 'not guilty' plea after being accused of fatally stabbing 68-year-old Lisa Thorborg in Hosp Grove Park. Thorborg was out on a walk on Monday, Nov. 23 when the attack happened in broad daylight about a mile from her home. Thorborg's body was found later that morning.
In addition to murder and allegations of using a weapon in the killing, the District Attorney's Office said it has filed an allegation to petition to transfer the teen to adult court and try him as an adult. In Tuesday's hearing, preliminary evidence is expected to be presented to the court.
The teen was arrested last Monday in connection with the murder near Carlsbad Village Drive.
Rather than placing him on home detention with an ankle bracelet, the judge ordered the teen remain in custody. He's due back in court January 25.